Bluff

"Sorry about this, guys. She should be here any second." Mason, the producer for Avenged Sevenfold's new album apologized. Mason and Matt had met at a bar a few months ago, and Mason had mentioned his record label after Matt had finished explaining that he and his band were looking for a label for their self-titled album. Having listened to Avenged Sevenfold's earlier albums, Mason was more than happy to do this for them.

And, now, the entire band sat in the studio room, Brian strumming away quietly on his guitar. They were waiting for Mason's daughter, who had been present for nearly every album her father's ever produced; including two Disturbed albums, and three of the Papa Roach albums. She had grown up watching her dad produce the singles for hundreds of bands, but he had never allowed her to watch the process of an entire album, because she often missed school because of the singles alone. Now that she was graduated and in college, she never wanted to be there for the producing of a single, but loved watching the albums be recorded and written and finally holding the final copy in her hands when the band members did.

The guys understood, having a strong family bond within themselves. They would't start recording until everyone had heard the song, just like mason wouldn't start producing until his daughter was present.

Suddenly, the studio door opened and a panting girl stumbled inside; a worn, white bag slung over her shoulder; it had various different drawings and words on it, clearly done at home. She quickly placed it on floor, next to the sofa Zacky, Johnny, and Jimmy were sat. "I am so, so sorry. Marissa got locked out of our dorm, and I had to turn around and go back to campus halfway here. It won't happen again, I swear," she rambled on, until Matt held a hand up to stop her.

"Relax, it's all good." He gave her a reassuring smile, which she returned. "I'm Matt," he said, his voice welcoming.

"Kory," she replied, her voice equally as warm and inviting.

With that, Brian looked up from his guitar, examining the familiar faced girl standing in front of Matt. She was now greeting Zacky, a grin on her face. She wore spiderweb tights under a pair of dark blue shorts, that had clearly once been jeans. White, worn high top Converse were on her feet, decorated with Sharpie, several names scrawled across them both in different colors. She wore a long sleeved, fitting white top, her hair was down and around her shoulders, still wavy as it had been the day before. Her makeup was done the same, as well; a thin layer of mascara and eyeliner, and a bit of pink gloss smeared across her soft lips.

In that moment, Brian seriously considered his life decisions.

Once she had turned to him, her jaw dropped. She quickly reclaimed her composure and sighed. "Fabulous," she muttered. "So, let's get started then, shall we?" She sat in the seat next to Mason, running her hands gently through her tousled locks. "Who's first?" She asked, looking towards the guys, as if Brian hadn't even existed. "I vote Johnny, we all know that bass is the foundation of a song," she said, chuckling softly. Everyone knew that the first thing they were set to record was Critical Acclaim; the boys had talked to Mason a few weeks before and Mason explained everything to Kory. He gave her the lyrics, and explained the vibe that they wanted to go for.

"Hell yeah!" Johnny agreed with her, laughing. "Do you even know the first song we're gonna be doing, though?"

Mason answered for her. "Korrissa works differently, I blame it on her aunt Jal. She'll wanna hear the song slowly put together before putting in her opinion," he replied, ruffling the shorter female's hair teasingly.

Kory nodded, and grinned as Johnny grabbed his bass, plugging it in. He then sat in the chair next to Mason, so the cord wasn't so outstretched. He began playing, and as he did Kory took his spot, laying her head against the arm of the sofa and letting her feet drape over Zacky's lap. She listened intently to the riffs Johnny pulled out of his bass, silently attempting to determine where his fingers were placed with each chord. She let herself get lost in the music, and before she knew it he had finished the first attempt.

"I like it." Kory leaned up, supporting herself with her elbows. "Especially when it gets all vibey about half way through," She added.

"Do you play?" Johnny asked, excited at the thought of someone to talk bass over. He only ever got to do that while recording a record, and befriending someone who was as interested in bass as he was seemed like a great idea.

Kory's cheeks turned a shade of red. "Yeah, but I'm not that good. I mean, I can play a little bit but not to your extent." She glanced towards all four guys, still ignoring Brian's existence. It was starting to anger him, and he wasn't really sure why.

"Here," Johnny pushed his bass toward her; a grin on his face. "Just play the last half of the intro, it's all open on E."

"What? This is your album, not mine. I can't do that," she replied quickly, her hands getting a little shaky as Johnny grabbed her hand and pulled her up off the sofa, shoving the bass into her hands. She sighed and finally gave in, playing it with ease. At first, she was more nervous than she should have been but not even halfway through and none of that mattered anymore.

"You're a part of the album now, no gettin' out of it," Jimmy teased, poking her side playfully. When she squirmed and took in a sharp breath with just a poke, Jimmy found out all he needed to know. He stood up quickly, and began tickling her sides.

She squirmed and laughed loudly, asking Jimmy to stop repeatedly. In fear that her clumsiness would make itself known, she quickly handed the bass off to Johnny and used Matt as a human shield. "If you stop tickling me I'll buy you all free booze when we're finished!" she attempted to negotiate once Jimmy had shown signs of getting at her again.

He laughed. "That's what I like to hear!" He exclaimed, stretching out his hand in surrender. He thought about how easy and laid back making this album would be. And, with someone like Kory around, he could never imagine a dull moment.

"Don't you have a trig test tomorrow?" Mason asked, his voice suddenly fatherly and demanding. He and Johnny had been talking while the tickling session had gone about, and it looked like Zacky had joined in as well.

Kory groaned. "Yeah, but I'm pretty confident I'll pass. I do need to get home by ten though, class starts at nine AM." She seemed somewhat disgruntled as she trudged her way back to the sofa. "Anyways, I'm going to get a coffee. Anyone else want anything?"

Mason, Zacky, and Jimmy all requested a beer. Kory found this as an opportunity to get something off of her chest.

"Brian, d'you mind helping me? I can't carry it all on my own," Kory asked, glaring at Brian as if he had thrown her under the bus.

He nodded, and quickly walked out into the hallway with Kory. He was the first one to ask questions. "What the hell? You didn't say you were supposed to be here! When Mason said 'Korrissa,' I thought that's what he meant, not 'Kory.'"

"I'm sorry, I wasn't aware that I was required to tell every stranger I meet that my dad owns a record label," she spat, remembering to keep her voice low. She passed several familiar faces; Clara, the short, decent-looking secretary who was so chirpy all the time that it was almost annoying, Cedric, the guy who took care of organizing what payments come in and when, Speederman, who everyone called Speed, Kory's childhood friend (who still has a relentless crush on her to the day), who made sure that all of the tech stuff was working. By the time they reached the kitchen, Brian had stopped rambling about Kory's being, grabbing two beers.

"Well, my dad's pretty fuckin' strict about no romance in the studio. So don't even try it. If you give me my space, I'll give you yours." Kory had always been pretty reasonable when it came to conflict in the studio. She had dealt with it for years, and never had a problem. She understood that people needed their space, and as long as they gave her hers, everything was peaches and rainbows.

Brian thought for a moment. He knew his friends wanted to stay with the label, and in truth he did too. He didn't want to screw something up for his friends, either. But then again, rolling around in the sheets with Kory seemed like one of the best ideas he had ever had. "Fine. I'll give you your space," he watched as she put more creamer in the cup than there was coffee, "But you have to forget about yesterday. If things are awkward in the stu--,"

Kory placed the lid on the Styrofoam cup and nodded. "I know, I know. All is forgotten." She gave him a reassuring smile, as if his face said that he needed reassurance. She grabbed a beer for her dad, and the two began walking back.

"So, if your dad's the owner of a huge record label, then why are you working in a shabby music store?"

"Hey! It isn't shabby. It's small, yeah, but it's where I grew up. That shabby music store is home for me," Kory replied, laughing at all of the memories that surfaced to her mind.

"How come I've never seen you then?" Brian asked, cocking an eyebrow in confusion. He, too, had many memories there but not a single one included Kory.

"Probably because you're a decade older than me," she answered, sarcasm dripping from her tongue.

Brian had forgotten about how young she was, though that hadn't mattered to him the day before. It probably should have, he knew. But it hadn't even occurred to him.

She took another sip of her coffee before walking back into the soundproof studio. She passed the bottle of beer to her father, who was still talking to Johnny. The drinks got passed out, and all seven of them got right down to it; the guys talking about how they wanted the album to sound and both Mason and Kory commenting about different techniques. But, every single time Kory glanced up at Brian, he was staring at her, not caring to take his eyes away from hers when they did connect.

She knew this would be an interesting experience.